Triest Talk

I feel so bad for the people of Texas that are enduring this horrible tragedy. I just have to make a few points for my friends and clients. Every time there is a catastrophe like Hurricane Harvey, the press and people say, "this has never happened before". The State of Texas and the Federal government will certainly help individuals and businesses who sustain losses. But there is an extent to which they'll provide relief. Those who purchased homeowners, auto comprehensive coverage business, and flood insurance policies, they'll be able to recover. How long it will take depends on many conditions but having insurance money to pay for restoration, living expenses and recovery will be there. For those who didn't plan and purchase coverage like a flood policy, their recovery will be more difficult. They may be able to apply for federal, state or private loans. Hopefully, there will be charitable organizations to help.

​Many of the flood victims won't have a flood policy.

Why?

Several reasons.

1. They may not have a mortgage so flood insurance wasn't required. In my 30 years of experience, most people who aren't required to buy flood insurance, won't buy it. That's not a wise decision.

2. They've been told that they're not in a flood zone. This is unfortunate because they were certainly in a flood zone but may not have been in what is called a "special flood hazard zone". The special flood zones are ones that require coverage if you have a mortgage and have the highest probability of flooding. But there are what is called an X zone which is a flood zone but not a special flood hazard zone or one that the government requires that you purchase if you have a mortgage. This is unfortunate because most people are led to believe from ill informed folks that they're not in a flood zone if they live in an X zone. And in cases like Houston, they'll have significant damage that is not insured. We saw this with the floods in Columbia, SC a few years ago. So for everyone in coastal South Carolina and many other places in South Carolina, if you're in an X zone or told that you're not in a flood zone then don't be led astray. You can buy a flood insurance policy. And you should if you cannot afford to rebuild without assistance.

3. People just look to the recent past to decide if they need coverage. This is foolish. We could have a hurricane like Harvey here on the South Carolina coast and it wouldn't be like anything we've seen in our lifetimes. Hurricane Hugo in 1989 wasn't like anything we have seen in our lifetimes. A storm that dumps 20 or more inches of water on the LOWCOUNTRY, would be devastating and flood many structures that had never seen flooding in the past 100 years. When we look at past events to plan for the future, we need to study the past 300 to 500 years and not your personal history. These types of storms happen here and will happen here again. We live in the LOWCOUNTRY in a tropical zone which is subject to catastrophic loss from wind and flood damage. There is no way to avoid this if you live here. But you can prepare by buying flood insurance. Our prayers go to the people of Texas. Nobody deserves to endure this type of catastrophe.